Can you offer me any help with learning to sing (better)?

allen

I'm a home player and although my guitar playing is fairly competent (as far as it goes) my singing is not much cop.

I thoroughly enjoy belting out anything and everything in the car, but the kids complain that my voice is terrible. I also am quite prepared to have a go at karaoke any time the opportunity arises so I'm not scared of giving it a go. I also get involved in friendly sing-songs at friends' houses from time to time.

However, I would like to get much better at actually singing in tune. Maybe with a view to actually performing something in front of friends at some point.

I went on a website called singingcarrots and it said my range is G2-D#4 (1.7 octaves) and I can do fairly well in their singing in tune tests so I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong.

I have also been working on transcribing songs lately to improve my ear and am developing quite a bit of confidence in my ear in general.

What should I do? Any websites or approaches that I should be taking?

flying_pie

I wouldn't read too much into your children giving negative comments about your singing - that's perfectly normal. Often they just don't like the idea of their dad being able to sing. I'll bet even Ronnie Dio and Bruce Dickinson will have suffered the same fate at some point.

I don't think there would be anything wrong with taking lessons. It's good to learn proper breathing for starters as well as vowel shaping. I never took individual lessons as I did a few years of musical theatre and got lessons within the rehearsals

G2 - D#4 is useable for sure, but you'll get higher with practice.

monquixote

I would recommend having lessons. 

I took some as I joined a band that required me to sing backup, but I wasn't a good enough singer. 

I think it's one of the best things I ever did and made a huge difference to my singing. Your voice is an instrument and you have to learn how to play it properly. Obviously unlike guitar you only have the instrument nature gave you so you are always going to work within your physiology, but you can make the best of it.

CaseOfAce

My advice is to just do it. Don't get too hung up on the technicalities of the thing ( I have no idea what G2-D#4 is).
I did have a few singing lessons but I found them a chore and I could never find the right teacher. Maybe subconsciously something did sink in and I sing from the diaphragm or what have you. I used to get a pain in the throat and out of breath if I sang 3 songs - but no longer -  so maybe I adapted and am using "proper technique".

Pretty much all the time I pick up a guitar at home these days is playing and singing - since it's so enjoyable and gives me a purpose for using the instrument. The more I sing the better I get at it (it seems to me).

I'm currently working my way thru The Big Guitar Chord Songbook The Fifties.

Mostly I think it's about confidence - and having no fear when stepping up to the mic. Knowing what you can and can't sing - finding the right songs - I sang Chelsea Dagger once with the band and that's the first and last time - I was straining to hit the notes. A man's got to know his limitations as Eastwood said. If it sounds crap - stop - there's plenty of other songs out there.

Open_G

Right song in the right range. 

Record yourself and listen back
Breathe and remember to keep breathing. 

Find your style- are you a smooth crooner or a gravelly grit covered growler?
keep going at it. My Mrs randomly played me a recoding of me singing Folsom Prison Blues 16 years ago very recently. She said how much better I’ve got. -purely based on having to do it myself as I’ve not played with anyone for quite a few years now. 

mrkb

Learning about how to project and move your resonance around your head made a big difference in being able to find the notes at the edge of my range and making singing ‘difficult’ songs easier. That was only possible with lessons and practicing what was taught. A good vocal coach will get that across in 10 or so lessons.

Petepassion

Sing as much as you can, as already said…record yourself and see what you’re doing well and what needs improving.
   I was never a great singer, but by just keeping at it with the band eventually I got to an acceptable level, not technically great but good enough for the type of songs I was writing.
   If you can rehearse with a band, depending on the type of music, this can help to strengthen your voice too.
   Like most things, the more you do it, the better you get.

Open_G

Also I add, if you can’t already learn how to harmonise. It took me years to get comfortable with it but I’ve got relatively decent at it in comparison to where I once was. I had to start working out a harmony by playing the melody on guitar then working out the best notes to harmonise with these. I can now do it without difficulty by ear. I also end up harmonising to songs on the radio. It has helped my pitch and range immensely. 

TTony

monquixote said:

I think it's one of the best things I ever did and made a huge difference to my singing. Your voice is an instrument and you have to learn how to play it properly. Obviously unlike guitar you only have the instrument nature gave you so you are always going to work within your physiology, but you can make the best of it.

As well as being an instrument, it's also a muscle.

As with any muscles, to get it to work properly, you have to put time into training it, and making sure it's warmed up properly before you start using it, don't strain it, etc, etc.  A lot of singing is also about breathing - properly.

A good vocal coach will talk you through all of the above and - if you're serious - it's worth finding one to have a few sessions.

motorhead

Haven’t a note in my head, and less of a clue but if it’s any help, OH is finding the vocalease app very helpful.

https://apps.apple.com/ie/app/vocalease-2/id1053564288

Fledermaus

It took me ages to get into singing with any confidence….. but practice is definitely the thing…. As with most things! And singing standing up is much easier, opens the lungs and frees the diagram etc.
Due to covid and a couple of other things I didn’t sing for a couple of years and now my voice is struggling again. I’m doing a little and often to get back into it but it’s curiously slightly different now.
I’m considering a few lessons in the future…..

BenSirAmos

Forget trying to sing and concentrate on how you can deliver a performance. There are many different kinds of vocal performance - Dylan, Jagger, Lady Gaga, Knopfler, Lisa Minelli, Johnny Cash, Johnny Rotten, Freddie among others - and doing lessons before you know what kind of performance you want to deliver might mean that you are directed towards standards you don't need to reach. Having said which, working out how to harmonise never hurt anyone. 

nero1701

allen said:

I'm a home player and although my guitar playing is fairly competent (as far as it goes) my singing is not much cop.

I thoroughly enjoy belting out anything and everything in the car, but the kids complain that my voice is terrible. I also am quite prepared to have a go at karaoke any time the opportunity arises so I'm not scared of giving it a go. I also get involved in friendly sing-songs at friends' houses from time to time.

However, I would like to get much better at actually singing in tune. Maybe with a view to actually performing something in front of friends at some point.

I went on a website called singingcarrots and it said my range is G2-D#4 (1.7 octaves) and I can do fairly well in their singing in tune tests so I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong.

I have also been working on transcribing songs lately to improve my ear and am developing quite a bit of confidence in my ear in general.

What should I do? Any websites or approaches that I should be taking?

That website is a great find, I've always struggled to sing also,  I just measured my range, I'm a A2-D#6 (3.5 octaves). I already done a couple of exercises. I may opt for the paid version.

Bezzer

Two really simple tips, and I by no means class myself as a good singer but these helped me.

1) Get a couple of lessons to help understand breath support and how to not hurt yourself.

2) Find and use a good warm up routine, it'll make your performance better and reduce the chance you'll hurt yourself.

Bonus tip : if you start to hurt stop.

You may have noticed from this that before getting lessons I was damaging myself a lot and repairing that damage can take a long time. If it's even possible, it was for me ... within the parameters caveated in the first sentence.

Blackjack

Have a look on Facebook and find Singing With Snipp.  He is my singing teacher and he has got quite a few video ‘lives’ on his page with loads of helpful tips on warm up, breathing and all sorts of other bits.  He is classically trained but the things he talks about apply to any genre of singer.  It’s all free so give it a go!